Mar 11, 2012 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #22
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersRevelation 19:11-21 is yet another vision of Christ set in Heaven. In this scene, Christ is our conquering commander. Yet the battle seems over before it begins. There is a marshaling of the Lord's enemies, but no casualty on the victor's side. Amazingly, the only weapon used is the one that is in the mouth of the Lion/Lamb who is now the Commander in Chief seated on a horse. Today, we will explore the meaning of this vision, which is the start of the final cycle of the revelation given to John.
Mar 4, 2012 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #21
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersOur God is the marrying kind. In the Bible, the idea of redemption means that God buys us out of our bondage which makes us his possession. We are enslaved to him. Yet remarkably, the story of redemption in the Bible always has a higher purpose. The focus of God’s salvation is not on our enslavement, (which is still the stunning display of his love, power and glory), but on his choice through redemption for us to become something higher; his Bride. The Church, as God designed it, is to be the place in which the Bride is formed and prepared to become the full partner of God in Heaven.
Feb 26, 2011 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #20
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersThese two chapters are the story of the city of the World that stands in contrast to the city of God. The world’s city is a testament to all that is anti-God. It is full of pride, built on blasphemy and guilty of disloyalty. The mother of harlots, its long history is full of wealth and bloodshed. Babylon shifts its location but never deviates from its core values. How then can believers survive the pull of this city? How can we live to God’s glory in a place that is so cunningly hostile? The answer appears deceptively simple—come out. Today, we will explore God’s judgment of Babylon and our call to live for God’s glory. The theme of God’s message to us is ―Contact Without Contamination.
Feb 19, 2012 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #19
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersSome roads come to an abrupt end, while others peter out. Roads can start out strong and wide and full of traffic, but at each turn, it narrows, the surface changing until nearing the end of the track—the roadway is hardly worn. It becomes a pathway, a single track, and finally at its end, it simply fades into no way at all, just wilderness. The journey is at an end. The successive pictures of the judgment bowls indicate intensity, abruptness and finality. However, there is another theme in the story in which the track is winding down and its course concludes not in a hardly discerned whimper. It is finished. While the judgment of God is gathering momentum, the choices of men are altogether weaker, fainter and somehow less. They meet in the same event when men become all that they have chosen and their final place is what they have resolutely chosen—a place that God is not.
Feb 12, 2012 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #18
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / Leaders
Every believer is engaged in a two front war; external (those who are against us) and internal (those flaws and failures that either make me weak or keep me weak). In the face of this reality can we possibly be victorious? Can a flawed and failing people deal with a determined, relentless and powerful enemy? Can we win? The answer is found in this section of the Bible. God has given us hope, power, and the means to grow strong and stay true to Him in the spiritual conflict that surrounds us. Victory is ours because God has made it available, applicable and attainable through Christ.
Feb 5, 2012 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #17
Dave MarttunenAudio / Questions / LeadersWe are changed by what we choose. Examples are abundant; relationships, education and pleasure all fit the pattern. What we choose shapes us. Revelation 14 confirms this pattern. The gospel is presented as the open call of God to return to him, but there is an alternate competing and life shaping choice to be made, which marks and ultimately claims all who choose it. Revelation 14 concludes with two diametric outcomes: a harvest for the righteous and a harvest for the wicked. We learn that our choices matter.
Jan 29, 2012 AM
Discipleship on the Edge #16
David Dawson
Audio / Questions / LeadersRevelation 13 contains one of the most recognizable images of the book of Revelation, the beast and the mark of the beast, 666. We must remember that while this book and this chapter speak about the past and the future, they also help us define how to live today. Beastly forces are alive in this world today. We must learn to recognize the beasts and live with endurance and faithfulness.
